Mark Steyn Human Rights Tribunal "Show Trial" Opens in Vancouver

Ezra Levant says, this isn't a real court. This is a kangaroo court, with three leftist activists as panellists"
By Hilary White

VANCOUVER, June 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has had its first day of hearings in the case being brought against syndicated columnist and author Mark Steyn, and Maclean's magazine that published an excerpt from his book, "America Alone".

The lawyer for the complainants, Faisal Joseph, opened his statements yesterday saying that the article, "The future belongs to Islam," published by Maclean's in October 2006, depicted Muslims as "a violent people" who hold traditional Canadian values "in contempt". Their religion he said, was portrayed as "inhuman" and "violent".

"We know under the Supreme Court of Canada [and] under tribunals of this country that there are reasonable limits [to the freedom of expression]," Faisal Joseph, Habib's lawyer, said.

The complainants, Mohamed Elmasry, an imam and president of the Canadian Islamic Congress and Naiyer Habib, after failing to bring their complaints to the legitimate courts, complained to the Canadian, Ontario and B.C. human rights authorities after the Toronto-based magazine published the article. the rest